nfl

It's hard to fathom that something as mundane as weather could affect employment statistics. But it clearly does. And it also has big impact on how much work actually gets done. And beyond the snows of winter, there's distractions like the Super Bowl that keep worker from their duties.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers meet Sunday in Super Bowl XLV, only one team will hoist the Lombardy Trophy. But the so-called "Super Bowl indicator" says this year's match-up forecasts a bull market no matter which team wins.

Super Bowl XLV will set records both for stadium attendance and for event fund-raising, and North Texas corporations haven't been shy to put out the welcome mat for their favored clients. How much will communities and local businesses score from the big game?

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, still atoning for his role in an illegal dog-fighting ring, reportedly asked for $100,000 to address the Animal Friendly Association at Richard Stockton College. It's completely untrue, but like all gossip, the lie has spread faster than Vick can evade a tackle.

With high-speed Internet access becoming ubiquitous, today's telecommuters can live almost anywhere. DailyFinance has gone hunting for the cities that offer the best combination of urban goodies, charm, culture and recreation, at prices that New Yorkers and Angelenos would envy.

The owners of National Football League franchises will be presented with a proposal that will give the league%u2019s apparel and sideline rights to Nike (NKE), CNBC reported.
Nike, Adidas and Under Armour all bid for the rights, CNBC reported without naming its sources. The value of the deal is not currently known.

Retailers such as Toys R Us, Rockport and Borders hope to grow their Web sales with a new shipping service called ShopRunner.com. Much like Amazon's Prime program, consumers pay $79 per year for a membership, which lets them ship as many orders as they want from ShopRunner's retail partners.

The NFL doesn't understand its own product. In the high-def age, NFL football games are better to watch at home -- and way cheaper to do so with ticket prices so high. Demanding that fans pack the stands hurts everyone, including the league itself.

The NFL's TV ratings are stronger than ever, but it's facing its third straight year of declining season ticket sales. With the economy still sputtering, and real prices for tickets soaring, teams are struggling to attract fans to watch America's most popular pro sport in person.

Among Thursday's top online stories for investors: a great analysis of the country's GDP numbers, a look at how the stock market typically fares in September after a weak August, and which stocks benefit from increased foreclosures.

Video gaming%u2019s biggest sports franchise got its latest facelift on Monday as Madden 11, the latest edition of the hit football game, hit the shelves.
The new edition features Drew Brees, quarter back with Super Bowl champions The New Orleans Saints on the cover, and EA Sports celebrated the launch with a "Madden Gras" party in the Big Easy, featuring players from the Saints, parades and musical guests including Big Boi.

The National Football League may not be recession proof, but it has done well during the economic downturn. Nonetheless, as training camps get underway, owners and players are worried about a possible labor stoppage in 2011.

For almost a decade, Reebok has had an exclusive license to sell headwear with NFL team logos, but perhaps not for much longer. A unanimous Supreme Court just ruled that the NFL's 32 teams are not automatically exempt from antitrust rules when it comes to granting merchandising licenses.

The Super Bowl is not so super to many economists. Experts in the economics of sports claim the NFL and its boosters have grossly overestimated the economic benefit of Sunday's championship game in Miami between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

Time Warner Cable and Fox Television are going head to head over carrying fees. The battle has escalated, and now Fox is threatening to withhold its channel from Time Warner on Jan. 1, potentially denying millions of viewers in 28 states access to NFL football games in the new year.